Page 14 of Between the Lines

Fia shuts her eyes for a moment, her chest rising with a deep inhale.

“Attic access is right there.” She points to the far end of the hall. “Be careful, some of the boards are clearly rotting.”

And then she’s gone, her footsteps vanishing as Daisy lets out another wail that even makes me shudder.

Ten minutes later, I walk into the kitchen where Fia’s leaning against the counter. Daisy smiles from her high chair with applesauce in her hair. That or puke.

“So tell me, are there families of raccoons in the attic?” Fia asks, standing with her feet crossed, face tilted up.

I shake my head, confused as fuck.

“What? No?” I pull up a photo I took on my phone, showing her the rotting wood. “But the write-up they gave you is accurate.”

Her head and shoulders simultaneously sag.

“But I know people who will give you a better deal.”

“Like for $132?” she asks dryly.

“Uh, no.” I furrow my brow. “But more like twelve thousand dollars instead of nineteen.”

She is unfazed by that news. “Thanks. I appreciate you looking,” Fia mutters, blinking fast as she wipes her daughter’s face.

“I’ll send you the contact info. Tell them you’re my employee,” I reply, pulling out my phone.

“That won’t be necessary, seriously. Thanks though.” She doesn’t meet my gaze.

“Too late, already sent you it.” I shove my phone back in my pocket. “Call them. I’m serious. They’ll do a good job—”

Fia cuts me off. “Maybe I should get another opinion.”

I can’t help but scoff. “You’re not going to find a better deal, I guarantee that.”

“I read that it’s smart to get like five or six quotes.” She shrugs, dropping a few smashed blueberries onto Daisy’s tray.

I swear she just pulled that fact out of thin air.

“Sure you could. It would be a waste of time though. I’m telling you, this is the best crew in town.”

Her ceiling is literally caving in, can’t she see that? I don’t understand what is going through her head . . .

“Since when is twelve thousand dollars a good deal?” She lets out a humorless chuckle, eyes snapping to meet mine.

“And when is nineteen a good deal? Because you were about to go with that price,” I bite back.

This time Daisy glances up at me too. Same emerald-green eyes as her mother’s. Behind Fia, there’s a tall stack of mail, which looks like bills. Beside that is a drying rack full of dishes, and below it is a dishwasher that looks older than me. My chest tightens and I try one more time.

“You can’t keep a roof like that,” I say, louder than I mean to. “It’s not safe. The longer you ignore something, the worse it gets.”

Her head snaps up as color rushes into her cheeks. “I know that, Caden.” She pinches the bridge of her nose. “But I can’t just write a check and fix things. I have a hundred and thirty-two dollars to my name until payday. So yeah, a roof is important, but I need new tires for my car, food to feed my daughter. And now that I don’t have a job, I can’t exactly afford all of them.”

Her words hit me square in the chest. This is by far the longest conversation we’ve had since I interviewed her years ago, and as much as I want to storm out of here and get on with my day, I pause, cocking my head back.

“Wait—what do you mean you don’t have a job? Are you quitting on me?”

If she quits, then I’m royally fucked.

“No, I’m not quitting, but I’m also not naive.” She tosses her hands up in the air. “I fell asleep on the clock in your office.”